April – May 2005

An innovative way to repair leaky sewer and stormwater pipes is being used for the first time in New Zealand by North Shore City Council.

Spiral winding technology, a process developed and patented in Australia, winds and interlocks a single strip of PVC profile into an existing pipeline to form a continuous watertight liner inside a deteriorated pipe. The technology yields faster results and is less disruptive to the community than open cut trenching. One hundred metres of pipe can be lined in less than four hours, compared to an entire day for other methods.

The spiral winding system is being used to rehabilitate 5 km of public sewers in a residential area of Browns Bay bordering East Coast Rd Project Manager Dave Woods says the council is always on the lookout for the latest and most cost-effective technology to complete sewer repair and rehabilitation work. This particular method is attracting significant attention from other local authorities and interested engineers.